Examining School Violence

On April 20, 1999, two teenagers dressed in black trench coats arrived at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, with an arsenal of weapons. They succeeded in carrying out one of the deadliest school massacres in American history, creating a national concern that led to a large-scale investigation into violence as a public health issue.

On April 20, 1999, two teenagers dressed in black trench coats
arrived at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, with an
arsenal of weapons. They succeeded in carrying out one of the deadliest
school massacres in American history, creating a national concern that
led to a large-scale investigation into violence as a public health
issue.

The occurrence of previous incidents in Oregon and
Arkansas, where children in schools shot their classmates and teachers,
and in Conyers, Georgia, only one month after the Columbine killings,
narrowed the focus to school violence, teenage violence and gun
control.

The media has put these communities in the forefront
of the search for the causes of teenage violence. But violence has been
a concern of inner-city and minority communities for decades. Long
before there was an incident in Littleton, Colorado, Teachers College
faculty and institutes were committed to understanding and ameliorating
the causes and problems of school violence and the understanding that
violence is not limited to weapons. An increasing number of incidents
of sexual harassment, another form of violence and abuse, are also
coming to light in schools throughout the country.

Shortly
after the incident in Littleton, The New York Times quoted Dr. Jim
Mercy, associate director for science in the division of violence
prevention at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as
saying, "The reality is that schools are very safe environments for our
kids." Yet, the massacre was the sixth multiple-victim shooting in 18
months. People yearn for explanations and are disturbed to think that
not everything is under their control, the article noted.

What
makes the Littleton shootings so unusual is that it seemed as if all
the pieces were in place that should have been. The county had one of
the few juvenile assessment centers in the country. It is an affluent
and well-educated community. Health care is not a problem for the
children in Littleton schools. Eric Harris, one of the gunmen in the
shootings, was under psychiatric care. Yet, in spite of things being
seemingly under control, young people died at the hands of their peers.

In the aftermath of the shootings, President Clinton convened a
meeting to address the causes of incidents such as these. Within a
month of the shootings, the Senate passed a bill that would require
child safety devices on handguns, though there was opposition to adding
more restrictions.

Clinton also ordered an investigation by the
Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission to examine marketing
practices by the entertainment industries to determine if they were
luring children to watch violent films, listen to explicit music and
play murderous video games. This followed an announcement by Surgeon
General David Satcher of a new study that will look at the roles of
popular culture, peer pressure, mental illness and the availability of
guns in triggering homicidal rage in young people.

A statement
signed by the American Medical Association, the American Academy of
Pediatrics, the American Psychological Association and the American
Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry concluded that, "viewing
entertainment violence can lead to increases in aggressive attitudes,
values and behavior, particularly in children." Research, they said,
clearly shows that young people have developed a higher tolerance for
violent behavior in general.

CNN reported in August, 1999, that
four out of five middle school students admit that they act like
bullies at least once a month. A study conducted in a Midwestern middle
school found that 80 percent of students said their behavior included
physical aggression, social ridicule, teasing, name-calling and issuing
threats.

Although statistics show that school violence declined
from 1991 to 1997, a study by the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention shows that it is still unacceptably high. Between 1994 and
1998, studies indicated 173 school-associated incidents, most of which
were homicides involving the use of firearms. While the total number of
events has decreased since 1993, the total number of multiple-victim
events has increased, with an average of five multiple-victim events
per year. The National Center for Education Statistics also reported
that there were almost twice as many gangs in schools in 1995 compared
to 1989.

Schools, for their part, have instituted increased
security measures with surveillance cameras and security guards
monitoring activities throughout school buildings. In some places,
students have to swipe a computerized ID card just to get in the door
or pass through metal detectors and trade in canvas backpacks for
transparent bags to make it difficult to conceal a weapon.

Yet
not everyone agrees that physical security is the answer, since
Columbine High School did have security guards and Heritage High School
in Conyers had surveillance cameras. Many districts are focusing on
recognizing and defusing threats that could lead to violence. Teachers
are being taught what symptoms to be aware of that would indicate
students who are prone to violence.

Teachers College continues
to be concerned with studying the school environment, assessing the
difficulties and the causes of violence, finding solutions to the
problems, and disseminating the information to the public. Some of the
initiatives taking place through the College today include a study
funded by the Spencer Foundation to look at the risk factors for
aggressive behavior among middle school students. Professors Marla
Brassard, Charles Basch, Suniya Luthar and Margaret Terry Orr are
working with student fellows to examine steps schools can take to
prevent the development of aggressiveness in young people.

As
Director of the International Center for Cooperation and Conflict
Resolution (ICCCR), Assistant Professor Peter Coleman is continuing the
work of Morton Deutsch, E.L. Thorndike Professor Emeritus, who directed
the Center for many years. Deutsch was a pioneer in the study of
intergroup relations, conflict resolution, social conformity and the
social psychology of justice. Coleman works with his staff to bring
conflict resolution skills to schools and others in the community.
Through programs such as the Peaceful Kids ECSEL (Early Childhood
Social-Emotional Learning) Program, the Center works with children,
teachers and parents to introduce skills for constructive conflict
resolution.

"Children, Culture and Violence," a conference
coordinated by Professor John Broughton, brought together experts who
research and address issues of school violence. Virtually every
presentation focused on two fundamental questions: What are the roots
of violence? And how can we break the cycle of violence?

Erwin
Flaxman, Director of the Institute for Urban and Minority Education
(IUME) at Teachers College, through a grant from the Metropolitan Life
Foundation, is engaged in providing a series of short analyses that
look at issues that are significant to scholars. The grant not only
allows them to work with project leaders to determine the impact of
what they are doing, but also allowed IUME to hold three conferences
that looked at ways to improve efforts to address school violence
issues.

Examining School Violence

On April 20, 1999, two teenagers dressed in black trench coats
arrived at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, with an
arsenal of weapons. They succeeded in carrying out one of the deadliest
school massacres in American history, creating a national concern that
led to a large-scale investigation into violence as a public health
issue.

The occurrence of previous incidents in Oregon and
Arkansas, where children in schools shot their classmates and teachers,
and in Conyers, Georgia, only one month after the Columbine killings,
narrowed the focus to school violence, teenage violence and gun
control.

The media has put these communities in the forefront
of the search for the causes of teenage violence. But violence has been
a concern of inner-city and minority communities for decades. Long
before there was an incident in Littleton, Colorado, Teachers College
faculty and institutes were committed to understanding and ameliorating
the causes and problems of school violence and the understanding that
violence is not limited to weapons. An increasing number of incidents
of sexual harassment, another form of violence and abuse, are also
coming to light in schools throughout the country.

Shortly
after the incident in Littleton, The New York Times quoted Dr. Jim
Mercy, associate director for science in the division of violence
prevention at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as
saying, "The reality is that schools are very safe environments for our
kids." Yet, the massacre was the sixth multiple-victim shooting in 18
months. People yearn for explanations and are disturbed to think that
not everything is under their control, the article noted.

What
makes the Littleton shootings so unusual is that it seemed as if all
the pieces were in place that should have been. The county had one of
the few juvenile assessment centers in the country. It is an affluent
and well-educated community. Health care is not a problem for the
children in Littleton schools. Eric Harris, one of the gunmen in the
shootings, was under psychiatric care. Yet, in spite of things being
seemingly under control, young people died at the hands of their peers.

In the aftermath of the shootings, President Clinton convened a
meeting to address the causes of incidents such as these. Within a
month of the shootings, the Senate passed a bill that would require
child safety devices on handguns, though there was opposition to adding
more restrictions.

Clinton also ordered an investigation by the
Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission to examine marketing
practices by the entertainment industries to determine if they were
luring children to watch violent films, listen to explicit music and
play murderous video games. This followed an announcement by Surgeon
General David Satcher of a new study that will look at the roles of
popular culture, peer pressure, mental illness and the availability of
guns in triggering homicidal rage in young people.

A statement
signed by the American Medical Association, the American Academy of
Pediatrics, the American Psychological Association and the American
Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry concluded that, "viewing
entertainment violence can lead to increases in aggressive attitudes,
values and behavior, particularly in children." Research, they said,
clearly shows that young people have developed a higher tolerance for
violent behavior in general.

CNN reported in August, 1999, that
four out of five middle school students admit that they act like
bullies at least once a month. A study conducted in a Midwestern middle
school found that 80 percent of students said their behavior included
physical aggression, social ridicule, teasing, name-calling and issuing
threats.

Although statistics show that school violence declined
from 1991 to 1997, a study by the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention shows that it is still unacceptably high. Between 1994 and
1998, studies indicated 173 school-associated incidents, most of which
were homicides involving the use of firearms. While the total number of
events has decreased since 1993, the total number of multiple-victim
events has increased, with an average of five multiple-victim events
per year. The National Center for Education Statistics also reported
that there were almost twice as many gangs in schools in 1995 compared
to 1989.

Schools, for their part, have instituted increased
security measures with surveillance cameras and security guards
monitoring activities throughout school buildings. In some places,
students have to swipe a computerized ID card just to get in the door
or pass through metal detectors and trade in canvas backpacks for
transparent bags to make it difficult to conceal a weapon.

Yet
not everyone agrees that physical security is the answer, since
Columbine High School did have security guards and Heritage High School
in Conyers had surveillance cameras. Many districts are focusing on
recognizing and defusing threats that could lead to violence. Teachers
are being taught what symptoms to be aware of that would indicate
students who are prone to violence.

Teachers College continues
to be concerned with studying the school environment, assessing the
difficulties and the causes of violence, finding solutions to the
problems, and disseminating the information to the public. Some of the
initiatives taking place through the College today include a study
funded by the Spencer Foundation to look at the risk factors for
aggressive behavior among middle school students. Professors Marla
Brassard, Charles Basch, Suniya Luthar and Margaret Terry Orr are
working with student fellows to examine steps schools can take to
prevent the development of aggressiveness in young people.

As
Director of the International Center for Cooperation and Conflict
Resolution (ICCCR), Assistant Professor Peter Coleman is continuing the
work of Morton Deutsch, E.L. Thorndike Professor Emeritus, who directed
the Center for many years. Deutsch was a pioneer in the study of
intergroup relations, conflict resolution, social conformity and the
social psychology of justice. Coleman works with his staff to bring
conflict resolution skills to schools and others in the community.
Through programs such as the Peaceful Kids ECSEL (Early Childhood
Social-Emotional Learning) Program, the Center works with children,
teachers and parents to introduce skills for constructive conflict
resolution.

"Children, Culture and Violence," a conference
coordinated by Professor John Broughton, brought together experts who
research and address issues of school violence. Virtually every
presentation focused on two fundamental questions: What are the roots
of violence? And how can we break the cycle of violence?

Erwin
Flaxman, Director of the Institute for Urban and Minority Education
(IUME) at Teachers College, through a grant from the Metropolitan Life
Foundation, is engaged in providing a series of short analyses that
look at issues that are significant to scholars. The grant not only
allows them to work with project leaders to determine the impact of
what they are doing, but also allowed IUME to hold three conferences
that looked at ways to improve efforts to address school violence
issues.